A MODERN FABLE story

On a day full of sunshine, young Raven rocked on her favorite perch. From halfway up the Spruce tree she had a bird’s eye view of the valley. She could easily see where a rushing creek filled several large ponds. Even narrow trails, which led through the forest.

If only her feathers could carry her to the tallest trees. From there she might even be able to go higher than those fluffy clouds. But she couldn’t. Her growing wings were too short and puny.

Raven was sure surprises waited beyond the hills.

Besides, a young raven was unable to fly long distances. Their bodies were too heavy, like crows. But young Raven was stubborn and puttered like an engine as she struggled in her practice flights from branch to another, higher and higher.

Crash-landing was like a game of poke-your-beak in the grass. She did it quite often. Gasping breath and tired wings made her realize she could keep airborne only so far, or high.

Other ravens could not stop shaking their feathers with laughter. They were pleased to live in their valley. Why wasn’t their friend happy too? All ravens had the same regular life before ‘smarty-pants’ came along.

Was it really that important to reach the tallest trees? Who cared what may be outside their valley? Raven was certainly a bird with impossible dreams. Families of ravens left their nests each morning to look for food.
After hours of searching they rested on branches, waiting for the sun to set.

But young Raven wanted more. She wasn’t content merely to shriek her tiny voice into the wind that fluffed her feathers.

Practicing long distance flying had its hazards. Landing on the ground brought her into an area inhabited by foxes, coyotes and hawks. Even wolves ate anything that looked delicious. And a young raven did indeed look yummy.

Raven was persevering as she tried to reach one particular tree. It looked tired and worn out. But, she was sure it would be strong enough to provide a good observation perch.

Losing her balance once again she fluttered slowly down. Then splashed into the rushing creek. Friends flew around with merry calls seeing their silly friend fail once again. At least Raven had a nice cool bath.

The smiling sun tried hard not to be sad for a young, unhappy Raven. Sun didn’t enjoy seeing Raven try so hard with such little success. Often he watched other feathered creatures play games of tag. But this silly bird was only interested in flying higher and higher.

The wind was not so happy either. Today, the sun sent a warm breath to dry Raven’s soaked feathers, after falling once more in the creek.

Days turned into months, then into years. Raven was still not happy living only in the valley. Life was much too quiet for her in the lowlands. And she wished more than ever to see the view on the other side of the hills.

Through constant practice she was able to fly to taller trees. Even though they had grown even taller and harder to reach. She could not seem to reach a perch she desperately wanted. It was bone white, since it had no bark. And it looked strong enough to withstand any type of weather.

Raven didn’t notice she was growing larger, even stronger. And her head and tail feathers were turning lighter in color. It must be from so much sun she thought.

However it did seem much easier for her to fly higher and farther. Strange, but her eyesight was getting much better too.

Friends were not able to fly as high as raven. They did not tease her anymore since a new respect entered their hearts. She was able to observe the tiniest movement. Such as curled birch bark flicking in the wind.

The scenery she enjoyed was much the same each day. But Raven was getting tired of eating leftover human picnic scraps.

Lately in her daily flights she noticed fish in the water. If only she could snack on one. It would be a nice change in diet. Raven also noticed rabbits playing in the underbrush.

For the first time her sharp eyes could spot movements of chipmunks skittering up and down trees.

But still she could not see over the ridge. And it made her even more curious about what lived there. Like the pair of loons enjoying water games with each other in the largest pond below. They were strangers here. Did they come from beyond the ridge?

More days passed, then weeks and months. Raven’s head and tail feathers continued to lighten. Her friends could not understand the changes, especially her size. By now she was larger than the other ravens, and still growing.

Raven began to notice strange birds in the distance. She did not know they were called Cormorants. And that other species were called seagulls. Surely they must have come from the other side of the ridge. If only her wings were stronger. Perhaps she could then fly from this valley and visit their homeland.

Days became more like a book Raven already read. She left her nest each morning and flew high as she could. Raven continued to practice flying to the tallest branches in the valley.

Somehow she had to discover what was outside her valley.

As she flew around she could see clouds were often shaped like marshmallows. And from her new perch high on the hillside she watched lightning zigzag as fireflies. She wanted to fly higher than raindrops. But right now they chilled her feathery body.

Then very soon the sun sprang up in a blaze of glory. Raven could see its beautiful smile. In the past she could only see the darkness of evening as light left the world.

No longer did the sun go to sleep feeling sadness for the unhappy raven. Even the stars used to blink back tears. And the wind would whisper “Goodnight” so as not to disturb Raven. Everything was different now.

Friends didn’t tease her any more, and made sure Raven was included in their games of tag. They didn’t mind she was now the largest bird, flying faster and higher, always winning.

Tonight Raven had a great sleep on her high, bone white perch. And not realizing tomorrow would change her life forever.

She woke up at the usual time, stretched and swooped to a campground below. Breakfast was cookie crumbs and half a forgotten sandwich. Then Raven flew to the highest branch on one of the not-so-tall trees.
She raised a head full of past dreams.

But, she wasn’t complaining. Raven did have a good life. There was much food on the land below. She had a comfortable nest, although it was difficult to get all her feathers inside.

Raven she did have more interesting places to explore. She noticed fish swam in great numbers at the waterfall. Raven also did not mind the heavy rain that fell. After all, it was warm on her head and tail feathers.

When she landed on a large branch it shook fiercely from her weight. But Raven was not afraid. Her legs were much stronger. And now she had many friends. They finally understood it was okay to be a dreamer.

One day something strange began to take place.

Raven felt extra warmth from the sun. It seemed to settle on her head and tail feathers. The heat was soothing. And she sat still for a very long time. She did not realize her head and tail feathers had turned completely white. Other changes had already taken place.

Rain came and splashed over her hooked beak. Once puny wings began to stretch. And stretch. They stuck out from under branches in the fir tree. Her head had also grown much larger.

Raven’s legs felt powerful with hard muscle. Her feet were larger and had razor sharp talons.

The tree branch dropped lower from movement. Once Raven had a chubby body with short wings. Now she was a creature of muscle with wings wider than a whole family of ravens. Finally the branch let go, dropping this new creature.

It flapped wings, eight feet wide from tip to feathery tip. And a warm thermal of air sent it soaring into the sky, high over the tree it once occupied. It rose past the tallest branch of the tallest trees. Even higher than her private perch where the bark had disappeared long ago. Now she climbed higher than the clouds and could see beyond the ridge. She explored over thick forests and new hills. Her soaring was effortless.

Both eyes were like twin telescopes. They could see movement at great distances. Sea gulls were crossing over a large lake. And Cormorants dived for mackerel. A family of loons paddled around a quiet bay. Squirrels and rabbits played tag in a second valley.

The huge bird’s dives and swoops harnessed the breezes. Then turned around and returned to her own valley. She could see much, including the nest where she once lived with friends. They were still watching to see where she had disappeared.

She dropped lower and flew among them. They were not fearful of her size and began to race with her. Other ravens dipped and dived in a journey of friendship. Their dance across the blue sky was delightful. They circled and swooped until the smaller birds were tired.

The larger bird flew to the perch of bone white she claimed as her own. Without bark it became solid as a steel post, helping it survive many seasons. It was more like a beacon among the greenery.

From here the huge bird rested and watched. She tucked in powerful wings. Her white head and neck blended with the tree that was her lookout.

A sudden urge demanded she eat something special for supper. Eyes zoomed in on a large rainbow trout far below. Wings shuffled, muscles tightened and the bird swooped for her first feast of fish.

Bald Eagle was now a new creature in the valley!

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© Richard & Esther Provencher 2005
All Rights Reserved

URL for Richard L. Provencher
http://writers.ns.ca/Writers/rprovencher.html